Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Playa del Carmen and Caracas

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $1,338 in Caracas, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. The total is higher in Caracas despite lower rent and utilities.

59

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
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Caracas Living Index

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Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,338

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Playa del Carmen and in Caracas

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Playa del Carmen and in Caracas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,204 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $1,338 in Caracas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $1,204
Caracas $1,338

A couple spends around $2,102 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $2,235 in Caracas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $2,102
Caracas $2,235

A family of three spends $3,000 per month in Playa del Carmen vs $3,133 in Caracas, rent included.

Playa del Carmen $3,000
Caracas $3,133

Playa del Carmen is about 10% cheaper than Caracas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Playa del Carmen and Caracas are more affordable than the global median – Playa del Carmen 11% lower, Caracas 1% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.86 MX$201

$10.98 VES 9,642

-1.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.21 MX$817

$67.1 VES 58.9K

-34.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.76 MX$217

$11.16 VES 9,796

5.38%

Cappuccino

$3.68 MX$68.0

$3.55 VES 3,114

3.66%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 MX$24.79

$1.52 VES 1,332

-11.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 MX$15.24

$1.30 VES 1,144

-36.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 MX$56.6

$2.06 VES 1,805

48.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.94 MX$91.2

$3.05 VES 2,680

61.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 MX$27.17

$2.64 VES 2,313

-44.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.22 MX$40.95

$2.31 VES 2,032

-3.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MX$27.32

$1.85 VES 1,624

-20.00%

Eggs

$2.49 MX$45.99

$4.64 VES 4,076

-46.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.52 MX$139

$10.35 VES 9,083

-27.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 MX$147

$9.20 VES 8,074

-13.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.57 MX$232

$11.64 VES 10.2K

7.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 MX$51.3

$7.43 VES 6,525

-62.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MX$26.37

$2.04 VES 1,794

-29.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.62 MX$48.37

$2.20 VES 1,931

19.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 MX$39.49

$2.38 VES 2,087

-10.08%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MX$37.38

$2.24 VES 1,965

-9.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 MX$36.74

$2.23 VES 1,958

-10.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 MX$21.01

$1.62 VES 1,424

-29.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 MX$22.18

$2.41 VES 2,119

-50.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.26 MX$78.7

$4.71 VES 4,132

-9.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.02 MX$185

$11.84 VES 10.4K

-15.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 MX$28.41

$1.42 VES 1,246

8.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 MX$49.17

$2.09 VES 1,839

27.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.53 MX$9.73

$0.51 VES 448

3.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.51 MX$508

$30.43 VES 26.7K

-9.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 MX$90.6

$5.08 VES 4,459

-3.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.43 MX$63.5

$2.83 VES 2,483

21.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 MX$99.4

$14.80 VES 13.0K

-63.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$26.76

$0.88 VES 772

64.77%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.2K MX$391.0K

$24.7K VES 21.7M

-14.44%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$23.0K MX$425.3K

$39.7K VES 34.8M

-41.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$85.4 MX$1,577

$21.94 VES 19.3K

289.06%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$23.46 MX$434

$11.99 VES 10.5K

95.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.43 MX$525

$37.39 VES 32.8K

-23.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.2 MX$1,149

$65.9 VES 57.8K

-5.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.68 MX$530

$17.83 VES 15.7K

60.85%

Cinema Ticket

$5.10 MX$94.3

$6.53 VES 5,735

-21.90%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$201 MX$3,715

$158 VES 138.4K

27.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,947 MX$72.9K

$6,066 VES 5.3M

-34.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.39 MX$820

$81.6 VES 71.6K

-45.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.35 MX$764

$51.2 VES 45.0K

-19.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.7 MX$1,344

$136 VES 119.2K

-46.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.6 MX$1,656

$131 VES 115.2K

-31.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 MX$18.1K

$604 VES 529.9K

62.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$373 MX$6,887

$425 VES 373.1K

-12.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,681 MX$31.1K

$1,103 VES 968.0K

52.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,095 MX$20.2K

$861 VES 755.7K

27.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,949 MX$73.0K

$1,464 VES 1.3M

169.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,137 MX$113.4K

$683 VES 599.8K

798.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$738 MX$13.6K

$303 VES 266.1K

143.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

-47.95%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 17, 2026

Last update for Caracas: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Playa del Carmen

$373 31%

Caracas

$425 31.8% 14% $52

Groceries & Markets

Playa del Carmen

$258 21.5%

Caracas

$339 25.4% 31.2% $81

Eating Out

Playa del Carmen

$200 16.6%

Caracas

$192 14.3% 4.3% $8.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4%

Caracas

$71 5.3% 48% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3%

Caracas

$180 13.5% 61.2% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Playa del Carmen

$72 6%

Caracas

$79 5.9% 9% $6.5

Getting Around

Playa del Carmen

$52 4.3%

Caracas

$52 3.9% 0% $0

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $979 in Playa del Carmen versus $604 in Caracas. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 143% higher in Playa del Carmen, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44.00 in Playa del Carmen versus $67.0 in Caracas. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $258 vs $339 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🇻🇪 Caracas

🕒 Local time

03:47 3:47 AM

04:47 4:47 AM

1 h ahead of Playa del Carmen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

149,923

3,274,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 878 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 987 VES (1,000 VES = 1.01 EUR).

USD to MXN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Playa del Carmen Caracas 2,430 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Playa del Carmen
Caracas

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Playa del Carmen vs Caracas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Caracas is pricier by about 11%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,806 per month in Playa del Carmen and $2,006 in Caracas. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 11% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $201 per month in Playa del Carmen and $158 in Caracas. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Caracas at $1,338. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Caracas it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Caracas makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.